Sales Slow at Charity Thrift Stores
February 9, 2009 | Read Time: 1 minute
Sales growth at Goodwill Industries secondhand shops declined steadily toward the end of 2008, mirroring an overall trend in the resale industry, the Associated Press reports.
Sales at established Goodwill locations grew 4.6 percent in December compared with the previous year. Growth rates were 7.1 percent in November and 9.8 percent in October.
“The broader economy is reflected in those numbers,” Jim Gibbons, chief executive of Goodwill, told the news service. “We have more shoppers than we have before, but people are buying less.”
The Salvation Army said sales grew 2 percent to 8 percent at its 1,300 American thrift stores, figures comparable to past years. But sales of big-ticket items such as furniture are down, as are donations, Melissa Temme, a spokeswoman for the charity said.
